Why We Sympathize With Slater

Tiffany Hawk, a writer, spent five years as a flight attendant for United Airlines and Virgin America before becoming a writer. She is working on a novel about flight attendants.

Updated August 11, 2010, 4:54 PM

As surprised as I am by Steven Slater’s dramatic exit, I’m even more shocked that the authorities have not charged the passenger he tangled with. Interfering with a crewmember’s duties can and does end up with arrest. It’s right there in the safety briefing. Or weren’t you listening?

It isn’t just the police or JetBlue that should be condemning this passenger, it’s the rest of us. According to the Wall Street Journal, the mystery passenger, after hitting Slater in the head with the bag, not only refused to apologize but cursed at him. And we’re saying Slater flipped out?

A code of passenger behavior? Nah. That would just make people more angry.

My Facebook page is flooded with airline friends who are celebrating Slater’s dramatic exit. Before being hired, flight attendants are given personality tests to ensure they can remain calm and friendly to even the most challenging guests, but that doesn’t mean they’re devoid of emotion. It means they keep it inside, until they can’t.

Most flight attendants would never seriously consider a stunt like this – if a baggage handler or caterer had been outside that door, they could have been killed. And it will cost JetBlue thousands of dollars to repack that slide. Yet all over the world, flight attendants are standing behind Slater’s actions.

Personally, I can vividly recall wanting to jump from a flight – at about 37,000 feet. I am normally a wimp – I don’t even like roller coasters. But if I had had a parachute, I would have had absolutely no qualms about hurtling away from that bad day.

A code of passenger behavior? Nah. That would just make people more angry. I do get why they’re angry too. I am flying tomorrow and find myself dreading something I used to live for.

We do need to address the working conditions of flight attendants. For starters, we could cover them fully under the labor laws, which limit the hours the rest of us can work. On top of an increasingly hostile work environment, they are given longer working days, shorter rests, lower wages, usually at the hands of management executives who are taking bonuses based on the efficiency of these underappreciated workers.